Ombudsman Remulla to ask Sotto to enforce 2016 dismissal order on Villanueva

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla will ask Senate President Vicente Sotto III to enforce a 2016 Ombudsman ruling expelling Senator Joel Villanueva from the Senate due to alleged misuse of at least P10 million of his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF). 

Villanueva, however, said the Ombudsman already dismissed the same case in 2019.

Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, meanwhile, said that he will wait first for the communication from Remulla’s office before he comments on the matter.

"That should be enforceable immediately by a letter containing the decision given to the Senate President. And the Senate President should be the one to enforce it," Remulla said in an ANC interview Thursday. 

"That is the only way to do it. We will try to enforce it now. We will write a letter to the Senate President. We will ask him to enforce a letter [from the Ombudsman] that was supposed to have been sent long ago. And ask him now to enforce that order. Because that is the way it works," he added. 

The dismissal order was signed by then Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales after the anti-graft body found Villanueva and nine others liable for the supposed misuse of his PDAF allocation in 2008 as the congressional representative of CIBAC party-list.

Sought for comment, Villanueva said that he “already anticipated possible harassment plus fake news” against him.

The senator also shared to members of the media copies of documents showing that he has no pending criminal and administrative cases with the Office of the Ombudsman.

“Filing cases din po kasi sa mga fake news spreaders,” Villanueva said when asked why he requested such clearances.

(We’re filing cases against fake news spreaders.).—Llanesca Panti and Giselle Ombay/AOL, GMA Integrated News